Fires and firefighters

The authorities quickly arrested critics demanding accountability, signaling an expansive use of the security law to silence dissent over nonpolitical tragedies.

After Beijing reshaped the political order in Hong Kong in its image, the fire has become a test of how well that new system can govern in a crisis.

The police said they expected the death toll of 128 to rise as the authorities began combing through the charred apartment towers.

Hope of finding survivors has dwindled, with many residents of the Wang Fuk Court towers still unaccounted for. Eight more people were arrested Friday over the blaze.

Residents describe how a blaze in a high-rise building in Hong Kong quickly spread, taking many by surprise and trapping an unknown number of people in the burning buildings.

Residents describe how a blaze in a high-rise building in Hong Kong quickly spread, taking many by surprise and trapping an unknown number of people in the burning buildings.

The country’s prime minister called the blaze “a disaster of enormous proportions.” The cause was still to be determined.

The fire ripped through a store in Hermosillo, a city in Sonora State. Officials said minors were among the victims.

The blaze drew dozens of firefighting units, with military help. Officials said they could not yet specify what caused it.